Jusenkyo Muyo!
by Marduke Report
Summary: When Tenchi and Katsuhito go to China on a training mission they stumble across the ancient cursed springs where a terrible tragedy overtakes them. How will the girls back home react when they see the new Tenchi?


Tenchi Muyo and its characters are the property of Pioneer and AIC. The characters that are original to the No Need For Tenchi manga are the creations of Hitoshi Okuda.

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creations of the very talented Rumiko Takahashi. This fanfic is written without the consent of aforementioned owners and yadda yadda yadda.

I know that Tenchi/Ranma crossover fics are dime a dozen as I've seen it put by at least one person. I truly hope to write if not the definitive Tenchi/Ranma fic then at least a very good one. So far the definitive Tenchi/Ranma crossover fic that I've read is Ranma and Tenchi: Together Forever!? by T.H. Tiger. Reading that fic inspired me to want to try my hand at it.

**Jusenkyo Muyo!**

Chapter One: Going Through Changes

The two men, one young and one old, gazed at what was their final destination. Weeks of traversing the rugged terrain of China had all been for this one moment. Finally they had reached the training ground that was so legendary that it had been forgotten by all but the most dedicated martial artists. Jusenkyo. Both the name and the actual place had been shrouded in the mist of the passing centuries until it had acquired mythical and near sacred status. It was a place of power. It was a place of magic. But mostly it was a place frequented by the unfortunate and the foolish.

Tenchi looked at the small springs that were the reason for notoriety that the area had. Dozens, no hundreds of the small springs huddled together in manner that suggested a school of fish or perhaps a flock of birds. In any event he was not impressed. To come all this way just to see some natural springs. He could have gone sight seeing for springs much closer to his home in Japan.

The dark haired boy sighed. Trust his grandfather to waste his summer on a pointless trip across China on a "training mission". Right now he could be home enjoying a nice Sasami cooked meal instead of subsisting on beef jerky and stale bread. He could be kicking back and watching TV right now. Not to mention sleeping in a real bed instead of on a thin bedroll on the rock hard ground. And then there was the company of the people who loved him. Why, Ryoko and Ayeka might even at this moment be knocking the house....

Ok, so there were some things he was glad to get away from.

Katsuhito for his part seemed glad to have finally reached the Jusenkyo training grounds. The journey through China started smoothly enough. But within a week Tenchi had made no effort to hide his growing unhappiness with the situation. Plus they had become rather ripe. Opportunities for washing had come far and few between.

The old man had suggested (while making it very clear to Tenchi that he had better accept) the training journey in order to help Tenchi clear his mind and focus on training with his grandfather. The semi-chaotic conditions of the Masaki household were just too distracting for the boy.

Or so Katsuhito claimed. Tenchi suspected that it was all just a trick for the sole purpose of making Tenchi miserable. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time the old man had pulled such a stunt. Still, a trip to China was a bit extreme, even for the old priest.

From behind the pair came the sound of someone wheezing and gasping for breath.

They turned to look at their traveling guide jogging rather slowly towards them. The man stopped when he reached them and tried to catch his breath.

"Sirs, why you no wait? This place very dangerous, you no should wander around by selves."

Katsuhito ignored the guide's warning. "That _is_ Jusenkyo, is it not?" he asked pointing to the springs.

"Yes," the guide informed the old priest. "Is ground of cursed springs. Each spring have own tragic story."

Tenchi's grandfather noticed the bamboo poles that standing upright and scattered about the area. "Tenchi! Now we will start your training in earnest!" With that the old man dropped his backpack and leapt to the top of one of the bamboo poles and stood atop balanced on one foot.

Tenchi sighed and followed suit, remembering to keep his bokken. Within seconds he was facing his grandfather on top of a nearby pole.

The guide watched the two men nervously. "Is very bad thing to fall in spring. Why you do that?"

Without warning the two men sprang at each other, the two bokken make a sharp "clack!" as they connected with each other. Tenchi almost sighed with visible relief as he landed on the top of a pole and just barely managed to keep his balance.

Or he would have kept his balance if two small stones hadn't smacked him in the back of the head. Suddenly he found himself slowly pitching forward. He screamed and his arms windmilled as he plummeted off the bamboo pole and into one of the springs.

Moments later he popped to the surface of the spring and glared at his grandfather. "Of all the dirty tricks! That wasn't fair!"

--------------

In his very long life Katsuhito had seen just about everything there was to see. There wasn't much that could surprise the old man. So when Tenchi fell headlong into the spring he didn't think much of it. What he saw next would have made him spit out his false teeth in shock if he had false teeth to spit out.

Several moments later a female with long dark hair burst out of the water. But what stunned Katsuhito was more than just a mere sex change.

_But how is that even possible? _the old priest thought to himself, his jaw dropping open. Someone he thought he'd never see again was glaring at him from the spring Tenchi just fell into. Achika, his dead daughter.

The guide of course knew what was coming and had already set out for the hot kettle of water he had for just this eventuality.

------------

Tenchi glared up at his grandfather. "Ok, if that's how you want it then two can play at that game." Even as Tenchi glared at the old man he noticed something different. His shirt seemed quite tight across his chest. Tenchi looked down and made the most horrifying discovery of his young life.

His chest had taken on a most definite odd shape. He had heard the guide natter on about the springs being cursed but had ignored the Chinese guide. Now he racked his brain trying to remember what the man had said. He cautiously raised his hand to his chest and gingerly felt the sudden growth there.

Only to find out that it wasn't a growth exactly. They were growths, two of them to be exact. It took several moments for him to realize that what he had on his chest were a sizable pair of breasts.

The scream was heard nearly a mile away.

---------------

The now female Tenchi sat on the ground with a most unhappy expression on her face. Her grandfather took note of that look. That particular glower was usually reserved for the times when Ryoko and Ayeka had managed to destroy some part of the house in their never ending war for Tenchi's heart.

_Achika had that same exact look a few times, _Katsuhito thought. Certainly it was rare; Achika was normally a sweet tempered girl not unlike Sasami. But there were those times when Katsuhito, who had the heart of a rascal, had intentionally embarrassed his daughter in front of Nobuyuki. It was those times that the old priest had been on the receiving end of Achika's furious glowers.

Still, looking at Tenchi's expression couldn't help but remind Katsuhito of his long dead daughter. Except for one important difference. Unlike Achika, Tenchi now had eyes that were the color of a certain flower that was once found only on Jurai but had been brought to Earth some seven hundred years ago. _The color of the Royal Teardrop, the surest sign of the legacy of Jurai. But how?_

"Great, how the heck am I going to explain this to the girls?" Tenchi grumped. Then a thought struck her. "Forget the girls. Dad's gonna have a heart attack when he finds out. Ohhhh... great what am I gonna do?" Tenchi buried her face in her hands and let out another groan.

At this point the guide bustled up to the newly made girl with a kettle of hot water. Tenchi watched as the man made to pour the water over the unfortunate girl.

"What are you doing?" Tenchi yelled, leaping out of the way.

"But Sir, hot water change you back," the guide protested. "Hot water turn you to boy-type and cold water for girl-type."

Tenchi looked skeptical of such an easy seemingly straightforward cure but beggars couldn't be choosers. "Really?" she asked.

The guide nodded vigorously. Tenchi sighed and submitted herself to the guide's cure.

"Well that worked," a sarcastic Tenchi said as the hot water soaked into her hair and clothes but her breasts (and presumably other female parts) remained.

The guide looked at Tenchi with huge eyes. "Me no understand. Hot water always work before." The guide turned around and ran back the way he came.

Tenchi turned to her grandfather. "I really hope you're enjoying this. One of us should be having a good time at least."

Katsuhito didn't answer but instead waited for the guide to come back. There were times that there wasn't any good answer at all, times when silence more than just golden, it was required. Soon enough his patience was rewarded as the Chinese guide ran back to the pair with yet another kettle of hot water in hand.

"This water _very_ hot," the guide explained. "Now you change back for sure." So saying he dumped the water over Tenchi's head.

"Yeeeeooooooowtch!" Tenchi screamed as the scalding water soaked her. She looked down at the pair of breasts that had stubbornly refused to disappear. "Hey! I thought you said I'd change back!" She gingerly touched her breasts again, plainly in shock at this most outlandish of circumstances. Then it struck her just what she was doing. She was touching a pair of breasts. Sure they were covered by a shirt and they belonged to her but still....

Katsuhito and the guide silently watched as Tenchi slowly toppled over onto the ground, blood leaking from her nose.

--------------

Nobuyuki Masaki hung up the phone and turned to see four anxious girls staring at him. "Uh... that was Father. Seems they're at the airport."

"Are we going to the airport to pick them up?" Sasami asked, the eagerness on her face easily matched by the three older girls present.

"And I have my license now so I can go pick them up if you don't want to be bothered," Mihoshi said helpfully as everyone else exchanged uneasy looks.

"Actually, Father was quite insistent that they would take a taxi home," Nobuyuki replied. For very understandable reasons he was very unenthusiastic about letting Mihoshi drive the family van to pick up Katsuhito and Tenchi from the airport and so was very glad for the old priest's insistence that they would find their own way home.

"A taxi?" Ayeka said. "But isn't that very expensive?"

"Yes, well he said something about not wanting to make a scene at the airport," Tenchi's father said with a weak laugh.

"Yeah, Ayeka, we wouldn't want you making a big scene at the airport," Ryoko said with a nasty grin.

"Looks who's talking, pirate woman," Ayeka retorted. "Like as not you'd just burn the place down. Talk about a big scene."

Sasami turned and headed for the kitchen. It looked like Ayeka and Ryoko were gearing up for yet another battle royale that never really decided anything but the two girls seemingly could never avoid. Anyways, the two men would doubtlessly be hungry when they got home and she was determined that they would have a wonderful homecoming feast.

So it was that the young blue haired girl set about cooking up a storm while humming a happy song and showing yet again just why she was so loved by the other members of the household.

That happy tune faltered a bit when a loud boom reverberated through the house.

----------------

"They're here!" Mihoshi cried excitedly as she spotted the approaching car through the window.

The members of the household flew to the door with such alacrity that they actually managed to get jammed in the doorway as they all tried to be the first one outside and the first one to welcome Tenchi home. Ryoko solved the impasse by simply phasing through the wall. Several seconds later the others sorted themselves out and Ayeka managed to shove her way through the door in front of the others.

By the time the taxi came to a stop the entire household was outside impatiently waiting to see Tenchi (and to a much lesser degree Katsuhito). The door opened up and Katsuhito stepped out of the car. Following the old priest was someone who was definitely _not_ Tenchi and most certainly _was_ female.

Ryoko growled at the sight of the long dark haired girl. "Who the hell..." Ayeka remained silent but her face plainly showed that she was in agreement with Ryoko's reaction at least until a certain realization struck home.

Achika had been long dead by the time any of the alien girls made their appearance of course but they were still very familiar with what she looked like. Nobuyuki had put together numerous photo albums by the time that Achika had died. There were easily hundreds of photos of Tenchi's mother in the house. And that wasn't to mention the many home movies Nobuyuki had made that she appeared in.

If the girls were stunned by the appearance of Tenchi's mother it was nothing to the shock that Nobuyuki felt at seeing his dead wife climb out of the taxi.

"Achika...?" he said before simply keeling over onto the ground.

Tenchi gazed at the girls before her along with her now unconscious father. "This really sucks," she muttered darkly. The girls obviously had questions. Questions that Tenchi didn't want to have to answer. Unfortunately there was no way of avoiding it that she could see. She had really _really_ tried to find a way but there was none short of spending the rest of her life in China. Which was an alternative she had rejected out of hand earlier but now was wondering if she had been too hasty.

For their part the girls rounded on Katsuhito.

"Who's this girl?"

"Hey, old man, what'd you do with Tenchi and who's she?"

"Where's Lord Tenchi?"

"Ummmm, should I know her?"

"Very funny, Lord Katsuhito. Now pull the other one."

The old priest held up his hands. "Now, now. Calm down and I'll answer all your questions." He grabbed Tenchi's arm and gently pulled her forward. "Girls, I want you to meet Tenchi Masaki."

Tenchi took in all the jaws that had just dropped open. "Um... hi," she said, rubbing the back of her head as a nervous sweat broke out on her forehead.

---------------

The female members of the Masaki household watched as the girl that claimed to be Tenchi walked into the house carrying the backpack that Tenchi had left with when he and his grandfather left for China.

Ryoko looked over at Ayeka. "So do you actually believe that crazy story about Tenchi falling in sort of cursed spring and turning into a girl? I mean c'mon, get real."

"Well, it _does_ sound very far fetched," Ayeka agreed. "Still, I can't help but notice the resemblance between this girl and the photos of Tenchi's mother."

"So you're saying you believe it?" Ryoko said, plainly surprised.

"I'm not sure _what_ to believe," Ayeka admitted.

"This has to be some kinda trick by the old man," Ryoko said. "He and Tenchi are just having a good laugh at us."

"How exactly do you think they are doing this?" Ayeka asked. "That isn't Lord Tenchi in a wig. And she does look amazingly like Lady Achika. Where would they have dug her up?"

"Dug her up?" Ryoko said, raising an eyebrow.

Ayeka ran what she had said through in her head and blushed. "Anyways, I can't see Lord Tenchi agreeing to this type of joke."

Ryoko rubbed her chin as she considered Ayeka's statement. "You have a point, something like this ain't Tenchi's style."

Ayeka turned to Washu. "You must have an opinion, Miss... er, Little Washu. So, what do you think?"

Washu assumed a look of deep thought. "Hmmmm.... what _do_ I think?" The small redhead continued to ponder the question for several moments before seemingly being struck by a revelation. "Well, you're in luck! Washu, the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe, is on the case! I will find out if that really is Tenchi or not for you." With that the diminutive genius did an about face and walked towards the house.

"Do you get the feeling that she's amused by all this?" Ryoko asked.

"Indeed," Ayeka replied. "She has a strange sense of humor, doesn't she?"

---------------

"You call that a training accident?" Ryoko demanded in between stuffing her mouth with rice. "A training accident is a broken leg or a sprained ankle. Not getting turned into a girl!"

."Really, you should have been more careful," Ayeka said in agreement with Ryoko.

Tenchi just hung her head. "I'm sorry," she said in small voice as she picked at the food in front of her with her chopsticks. She sighed even though she had to admit it wasn't going as badly as she had feared it might. At least no one had died. Yet.

"Hey, lay off, princess," Ryoko said turning to Ayeka with a scowl. "The way I see it you practically drove Tenchi to go to China just to get away from you."

"What do you mean _I_ drove Tenchi away?" Ayeka demanded as she turned to glare at her rival. "It was obviously _your_ constant hounding that made him want to leave. Besides, what man would want to stick around and be forced to see your ugly face and listen to your incessant screeching?"

Tenchi felt a hand on her arm and looked up to see Sasami watching her, concern clearly written on the young girl's face. "It's not your fault, Tenchi. I'm just sorry that you seem so unhappy."

"I'm fine, Sasami. But thanks anyhow." Tenchi spent a few moments in silent thought (with the typical "help" of Ryoko and Ayeka noisily going off on each other) and then pushed herself away from the table. "I thank you for dinner, Sasami. It was delicious as usual."

"But you haven't finished," Sasami protested.

"I'm sorry," Tenchi apologized. "I'm just not very hungry. I think I'll turn in now."

Nobuyuki, who had been silent throughout the whole exchange, watched Tenchi as she left the table and went to her room.

------------------------

Sasami turned and glared at the elder princess of Jurai and the former space pirate. "You shouldn't have been so mean to her. She already felt bad enough as it was and now you made her leave without finishing her meal."

Ayeka and Ryoko had the decency to look embarrassed.

Ryoko stood up. "Maybe I should go talk to Tenchi." She stepped around the table only to be stopped by someone grabbing her arm.

"No," Ayeka said as she restrained Ryoko. "Let her be for now. She needs time to be by herself." Internally princess sighed. This turn of events was a complete disaster. Tenchi was her one great hope for a decent marriage. With Tenchi magicked into a girl by a cursed spring the way was clear for her father to make more attempts on foisting more pink haired prissified dandies on the elder princess

"But...." Ryoko trailed off. She knew Ayeka was right but she hated admitting it. "Fine then." The former space pirate jerked her arm free of Ayeka's grip and faded from view.

Sasami heaved a sad sounding sigh as Ayeka plastered a cheerful looking smile on her face and turned to her younger sister. "Now, now, no sense in wasting all this fine food you've made. That won't do anyone any good. Besides, they're certainly enjoying themselves," she said pointing at Mihoshi and Washu who hadn't stopped eating throughout the entire confrontation.

"Well, I didn't want to say anything, " Mihoshi said, "but doesn't Tenchi seem different some how?"

------------------

Tenchi sat at the desk in her bedroom, her head resting on her hands. She thought about the fact that the last time she sat at the desk she had been a normal (well not really) teenage boy. It wasn't that long ago at all but now it seemed like an eternity ago. What she wouldn't give to be able to go back to that time.

Her stomach rumbled and a small wry grin appeared on her face. In actuality she had been quite hungry still when she left the table. But she just couldn't take the looks everyone else was giving her, particularly her father. And it was hard to eat when all she could think about was the desire to flee. And the desire not to have this body she now had.

That emptiness in her stomach suggested that perhaps honesty would have been the best policy as far as the food was concerned. Although she was sure that taking her dinner into her room to eat would have seemed like a slap in the face to the others. What was a little hunger anyways?

Tenchi's thoughts turned back to her father. Of all the people it was him that she felt guiltiest about. This couldn't be easy for him either, suddenly being confronted by the image of his dead wife. Even worse had to be the knowledge that it was his son that wore her body. She didn't like it but Tenchi couldn't see a way around the necessity of avoiding her father for the time being at least. Perhaps once they came to terms with the weirdness that the situation presented they could have a more normal....

A knock at the bedroom door interrupted her thoughts. "Tenchi?" came Sasami's voice through the door.

Had it been anyone else Tenchi would have probably sent him or her away but never Sasami. "Come in," she called out.

Sasami opened the door and stepped into the room carrying the bowl that Tenchi had abandoned at dinner. "Here, I warmed it up for you," the younger princess of Jurai said. "I had a feeling that you were probably still hungry even though you said you weren't."

"But how did you know?" Tenchi asked, surprised.

"I was pretty sure you were just making an excuse so you could leave," Sasami answered. "I don't blame you, they were being rude to you." The young girl handed the bowl to Tenchi and smiled.

Tenchi took the bowl from Sasami and returned her smile. "Thank you very much," she said as she picked up the chopsticks from the top of the bowl.

"Would you like to eat your meals in here?" Sasami asked. "I can fix a plate at mealtimes and bring it in to you if you'd like. That way you wouldn't have to face the others."

"That's tempting," Tenchi admitted. "Very tempting. But I can't hide from them forever. I'm going to have to deal with them at some point. And I will. Tomorrow."

Sasami nodded, clearly pleased by Tenchi's words. "It'll all work out, you'll see."

Tenchi filled up her mouth thereby avoiding having to voice an opinion on the subject. She wasn't nearly so confidant that things would "all work out" but she didn't want Sasami to know that. Without any warning Sasami wrapped her arms around Tenchi and rested her head on the older girl's shoulder.

"I'm just glad you're back, even if you are a girl now," Sasami said softly. "I really missed you."

Tenchi set the bowl down on her desk and returned Sasami's embrace. "Thanks, you don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that. During the entire trip back from Jusenkyo I was dreading arriving back home."

"That's just silly," Sasami replied. "Don't worry about them, they'll get used to it. You're still our Tenchi no matter what."

Humbled by and grateful for Sasami's unconditional love Tenchi found it necessary to attempt to surreptitiously wipe at her eyes.

"Something wrong, Tenchi?" the young blue haired princess asked, concerned.

"Nope, just fine," Tenchi answered quickly. "Just got something in my eye is all."

"You know, it could be worse," Sasami told her. "You could have been turned into an ugly girl. Don't you think it's good that you turned into such a pretty girl?"

Tenchi's face burned. She knew that Sasami was trying to look on the bright side of things but still.... "Um, yeah. That's...great."

---------------

Unseen by the two inside the former space pirate hung outside Tenchi's window. Despite the fact that she knew bothering Tenchi would be a bad idea she was tempted to go to him.

_It's her now, not him, _she thought, letting out a small growl of frustration about the whole situation. _This whole thing is crazy. Who ever heard of guys turning into girls? A cursed spring? That's...so lame!_

She watched as Sasami put her arms around the now female Tenchi and felt a twinge of jealousy. _Even if she **is** a girl she's still **my** Tenchi!_

That particular thought startled her. Just how _did_ she feel about a female Tenchi? That in itself was something of a revelation. Usually Ryoko knew exactly how she felt about any given situation without a whole lot of introspection to determine those feelings. The fact that she didn't have a handle on how she felt about this was just as frustrating as the actual situation of Tenchi's new femalehood itself.

Ryoko was at heart a simple girl and enjoyed the simple pleasures of life. Flirting with Tenchi. Drinking sake. Pissing Ayeka off whenever the opportunity presented itself. Groping Tenchi. Drinking sake. Blowing stuff up. Flashing Tenchi with her naked body with amusing results. Drinking sake. Eating Sasami's wonderful cooking. Popping in on Tenchi at times that were highly embarrassing and inconvenient to him. Drinking sa-

"I had no idea that you were into voyeurism," a voice called out from below her.

Ryoko floated down to where Ayeka stood looking up at the former space pirate. "What do you want?" the blue haired girl growled. "Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"Busy peeping you mean!" Ayeka retorted.

"Give me a break," Ryoko muttered. "You know you're curious too so don't lie."

"Ryoko! That's absurd. I am _not_ a Peeping Tom!"

Ryoko scowled at the elder princess and then grabbed her. "Fine, I'll let you have a good look for yourself then." With that the pair floated back up to Tenchi's window.

"Ryoko! Put me down this instmmmrrrphhh!"

Ryoko jammed her hand over Ayeka's mouth. "Quiet you! Do you want someone to catch us looking into Tenchi's room?"

Ayeka's eyes grew wide at the thought of the embarrassment of being caught in such an act and she shook her head.

Satisfied, Ryoko dropped her hand from Ayeka's mouth and looked through the window to see Tenchi eating from the bowl she had abandoned at dinner alone, Sasami having left during the time that Ryoko had been distracted by the elder princess of Jurai.

"She looks so sad," Ayeka commented.

"You'd look sad yourself if you fell into a spring and came out a boy," Ryoko pointed out.

Ayeka couldn't argue with that. She tried imagining suddenly switching genders and shuddered at the thought. "So you believe her and my brother then?"

"At this point, yes I do," Ryoko replied. "If this is some sort of prank then they've really taken it too far by letting it go on this long. I know it sounds crazy but.... Well, anyways, I'm gonna find out for certain tomorrow morning."

"How will you do that?" Ayeka asked.

"You'll see in the morning," Ryoko answered. "Just follow my lead, ok?"

---------------

Tenchi stood up and stretched. It was a bit early for her to turn in but it had been a long and tiring day. She started to get undressed and then stopped. Dealing with her body was becoming easier. She had at least gotten to the point that she could perform the necessary bodily functions without passing out or suffering massive nosebleeds but it didn't mean she was comfortable with her body. And she avoided mirrors like one might avoid a massive snarling dog with rabies.

Getting undressed wasn't a big deal really, she had done it often enough on the trip home. She needed to take care not to get too much of an eyeful of her own body. It was just too weird. It was what she was going to wear to bed that was the problem.

Tenchi sighed; her own body had become the enemy. And there was no escaping her body

She glanced at the bed. Sleep was really the only escape she had. It wasn't much what with the weird dreams she had been plagued by since Jusenkyo but it was better than nothing.

She rummaged through her dresser and pulled out an old t-shirt that had been a bit over sized for her now gone male body. She then stripped down to her boxers and hurriedly put on the t-shirt before turning out the light and crawling into bed.

---------------

Tenchi savored the wonderful smell of Sasami's efforts as she wandered into the kitchen. Yes, even with what had happened there still some distinct advantages of being home.

"Good morning, Tenchi," Sasami cheerfully called out as she turned to give the older girl a dazzling smile. "Did you sleep well?"

"Just fine, thank you."

"Good morning, Tenchi, Sasami," Washu said as she walked in behind Tenchi.

"Oh, good morning, Little Washu," Tenchi said, turning to favor the small scientist with a smile.

"Hey, Tenchi, I'd like you to drop by the lab sometime today," Washu told the dark haired girl.

"Your lab?" Tenchi said uneasily. "Any particular reason?" The last place Tenchi wanted to go to was Washu's lab. Nothing good had ever come of visiting the place. Not to mention that it gave her the creeps.

"You want to get back to your original body, don't you?" Washu said. "I'm won't be able to help you if you refuse to go into the lab. I don't know what you're worried about."

"Worried?" Tenchi said. "I'm not worried. Really. I'll be happy to stop by your lab later."

"Oh wow, are you going tie her up and take her clothes off like last time, Miss Washu?" asked a certain blonde who had just entered the room.

"Last time Tenchi was a male so it won't be quite the same, now wi-" Washu spun around. "Mihoshi! You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!"

The other two girls made their entrance in typical dramatic fashion, or at least in a fashion typical for them.

"Do you mind getting out of the way? You're blocking the door with your wide hips," came Ryoko's voice.

"What do you mean by 'my wide hips'?" Ayeka said. "You're the one with a back side that can knock over walls. Why, it's so big I'm surprised you can still fit inside the Ryo-ohki."

"Whaaaat?" Ryoko said in evident shock before calming down enough to return with a shot of her own. "It's a fact, princess, that your hips are wide. But you shouldn't feel bad. You Juraian royal types are purposefully bred for wide hips. After all, giving birth is easier if you have hips like a cow."

After several explosions the doorway was wide enough for the both of them to walk through at the same time, wide hips and all.

"Ah, Tenchi. Just the person I wanted to see," Ryoko said as she sat down and pointed at a chair on the other side of the table from her. "There. Sit."

"What is it you want, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked suddenly feeling a bit nervous. She noticed that instead of her usual morning attire of her beloved blue and yellow dress/shirt/thingy Ryoko was wearing one of her more colorful outfits. One that was designed to show off her body to its best advantage. Which meant cleavage, lots of cleavage. Tenchi quickly tore her gaze away from Ryoko's very shapely assets.

"I was thinking about this whole thing," Ryoko said. "You have to admit it's very strange, magic springs and all. So, how do we know this isn't some sort of trick by you and Tenchi's grandfather?"

Tenchi suppressed a surge of annoyance. "First of all, I'm Tenchi. Second of all, I guess you don't. You'll just have to take our word for it. I don't know how to help you beyond that."

"Okay, let's put that to the test," Ryoko said. "Lemmee see. Okay, when we first met how did you win the battle?"

Tenchi rolled her eyes. "Fine, have it your way. I cut your hand off. Or more precisely, the sword cut your hand off while I was holding it."

"Lucky guess," Ryoko said.

Tenchi had to make an actual effort not to grind her teeth. "Any more great ideas?" she said with no small amount of sarcasm.

"Let me try," Ayeka said. "Lord, er, Lady, um-"

"Tenchi will be fine, Ayeka," Tenchi told her with a smile.

"Yes, Tenchi, of course. That night on the Ryo-oh, what did you do when you snuck into my bedchamber?"

"You did what?" an outraged Ryoko shouted.

"Opps, you never knew about that, huh?" Tenchi said, turning to Ryoko. "All I did was try to steal Ayeka's headpiece, you know, her tiara. But I ended up getting the master key back instead."

"Tenchi could have told you about that though so it's not real proof," Ayeka said as she tapped a finger against her cheek.

Tenchi closed her eyes for a moment. "This is pointless, no matter what I say to you it's not going to be good enough. Either believe me or don't."

"Are you two done wasting our time?" Washu asked. "You're holding up Sasami and that means you're holding up our breakfast. And I for one am starving."

Both Ayeka and Ryoko gave Tenchi a look that plainly said that it wasn't over yet, not by a long shot.

"Forget it girls," Washu said. "Tenchi is going to be busy with in the lab today. You'll have to wait for another day to sink your greedy claws into her."

Tenchi wasn't sure whether to be grateful or whether to run for the hills and never look back. However, the point became moot when Ryoko leaned over, yanked her top down far enough to expose her breasts and pushed them into Tenchi's face.

Moments later Tenchi fell out of her chair and onto the floor, dead to the world and bleeding from her nose.

Ryoko turned to Ayeka. "That's a definite Tenchi reaction."

"Doesn't really prove anything," Ayeka replied.

--------------

Katsuhito stepped into Washu's lab. "You wanted to see me, Miss Washu?" he said to the redhead who had her back to him as she typed away at her holo-computer.

"Ah, Lord Katsuhito, thanks for coming here," Washu said as she turned to face him. "I finished my examination of Tenchi. Those silly girls will be happy to know the she really is the real Lord Tenchi. Or I should say Lady Tenchi for the time being at least."

"Yes, I can see where that might help relieve some of the strain that Tenchi must be feeling," Katsuhito said. Inwardly he pondered that. In actuality it might make things worse. Who knew what that knowledge might do to the dispositions of Ryoko and Ayeka. Knowing that the boy they had been chasing was now well and truly a girl just might make one or both of them snap. Particularly Ryoko. Katsuhito felt that he knew his sister well enough to say that she would deal with her disappointment in a mature manner (he hoped). Ryoko on the other hand was different story.

"Lord Katsuhito, the real reason I asked you to stop by the lab is because there's something we really need to discuss."

"Yes, I'm listening, the old priest said. "Go on."

"However it is that the spring turned Tenchi into a girl is something that has me pretty much baffled," Washu admitted. "At first I thought I'd have the whole thing solved with no problem. After all I am the-"

"-Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe," Katsuhito finished for her. "So you're saying there's nothing you can do?"

"You should know better than that," Washu said. "I'm just saying that it's not going to be as easy as I first thought. Whatever the method that was used to create the transformation is something I've never seen before. The same can be said for the energy used in the process. I think I'm going to have ask for your help, Lord Katsuhito."

"Of course I'll do what I can but I'm not sure what use I'll be," Katsuhito replied.

Washu turned back to her computer and entered a few quick commands. A holographic globe of the Earth appeared in front of Washu. "Tenchi isn't the only victim of the springs, not by a long shot."

Hundreds of small red blips suddenly dotted the surface of the globe. "Fortunately there's an organization that keeps tabs on all the people who have fallen into one of the Jusenkyo springs and have the "curse". Currently there are over two hundred people worldwide who have taken a plunge into one of those springs. According to the files all of those two hundred plus people have the ability to change back to their original form with the use of hot water. _All_ of them."

"The Jurai power," Katsuhito said.

"That's my exact thought also," Washu said. "Somehow the power of Jurai, or more specifically the power of the Wings of the Light Hawk, is interfering with Tenchi's ability to turn back to his male form. And interfering with my ability to figure out exactly what's happening."

"Allow me to hazard a guess," Katsuhito said. "You intend to study one of the Jusenkyo victims in order to determine the difference between a normal working Jusenkyo curse and Tenchi's predicament."

"Exactly," said a pleased Washu. "Fortunately we don't have far to go, relatively. As you can see on the globe there are several other Jusenkyo victims in Japan. Tokyo to be precise." Washu called up some files on her holo-computer. "In fact, one of them fell into the same exact spring Tenchi did. A young man by the name of Ranma Saotome."

Katsuhito spared a moment to feel pity for this Ranma Saotome for what would likely happen to him at Washu's hands. "I don't see what it is you need me for. I won't be much help to you in the lab."

"Actually, I'll need you to go with me to Tokyo to convince this Ranma person to be our guest here while I poke and prod him with all the doodads I have lying around in the lab," Washu said.

"Of course, Miss Washu," Katsuhito said. "I'll talk to Nobuyuki about borrowing the van for the trip."

"That won't be necessary," Washu said. "I'm not going to waste our time driving to Tokyo when we can teleport there in an instant. But I would like you to go with me to talk to this kid."

Katsuhito wasn't wild about teleporting to Tokyo from Okayama but decided that the under sized genius could do whatever she liked. "I don't see what use I'll be trying to convince him if you can't but I'll come along anyway," he said

"You might want to think about bringing Tenchi along," Washu said. "It just might help."

"Do you really think it would be wise?" Katsuhito asked doubtfully. "I'm not sure Tenchi would be up to that right now,"

"It can wait for a few days," Washu said. "There are several things that I need to do before hand anyhow. Besides, you're right. Tenchi needs a few days to adjust to being back here first."

---------------


End file.
